Peru 1761-L JM 1/2 real

This specimen is one of a series struck 1760-72 during the reign of Carlos III (1760-1788). There are several varieties for this year, including an overdate, a normal M in the mintmark, and a variety without a pellet after the date. This example is the 1761/0 overdate, and it also has a normal M in the mintmark. This variety combination is unlisted, hence the rarity is unknown. As a class, colonial coinage of Peru is much less plentiful than that of Mexico, though it is more available than the remaining mints. However, Harris[2] noted only one-fifth as many Peruvian half reales of Charles III as that of Mexico, so it is safe to say that this type is scarce.